Table Of Content

Chapter 22 Shelter Design. and Construction Considerations A sheter project, lke any olhor projct. can seem overvhetming atthe onsal. A large intimidating shelter project can be tamed by segmenting the projet into smaller man agoable unis such as the shall, alr systam, ower system, lighting systern, water suppl, ttc. Deal vith the project a seament at atmo. And rememnber, what man can canesive and boleve, man can achieve, Space Requirements LeneTH Space requirements for sheller occu. pants shouls be considered from both a basis, of square fectage per person and cubic feat per porson. The U.S. Government publica tions iecommers @ minirur of net 10 ‘square feet pee person. Net square feet is floor space that can alsa ince walls, bunks, storage and fixed equipment Ty ving in 10 square feet for wo weeks, especially with chidron. What if t ends up being 60 or 30 cays? Some ofthe larger shotters lam aware ‘of have up to 50 net square fet per person. Design Specification Questions The following ave questions, which when ‘answered, can atimulato creative thinking and boing to Ight considerations thatthe frst time seller bullder may have overlooked. 1, How many gecele is the project going to coommerata? 2. Howr mary family groups does the above umber of psorie represent and what Sizes are these grcupa? 3. Do you wart private rooms for family groups? 4. Where, generally, is the shelier going to be Kecatec? 5. Do you want blast protection or do you! cant fallout protocson? How long co you want to be able to remain in the sneter without having to ‘ome aut? One manth, ve months, roo ‘manths,niae ments, or more? 308 7. How much of a food supply do you need to stocipie in of near the shelter? One rmanth supply, two months, six months, fone yess, or more? rant a separate nie room inthe 8. Do you want to try to shield your sensitive electric equipment from electromag. netic pulse? 10, Be you intend on having communisation equipment, fie. shorivave, ham, et)? 11. De you intend on having a decontarine- tion ere? 12, Da you plan on having a crawhin or a walein onty wey? 18, How doap ate the walls inthe area where the shelters going ta be buit? 14, Da you want a pressurized water systom ‘with an electric woll purp or do you want a hand oxmp or both? 15, Da you want hot water and lush tllots? 18, Da you want both a men's and a women's ‘athvaom, or ane bathroom? 47. Do you plan an having a water stonage ator? 18. How big ofa cistarn, in terms of balloon ceapacty, do you want ornoad? +8, How long do you want to be able to run your generators, (8. how long do you ‘want the fuol to last? 20. De you wan! lo have an extra generator for back up? 21, Do you want to incorporate the ability to fun on battery powar into the shatters power system? 22, Do you want battery cower as an emor- gency resene of as a primary operating 23, Howrlong do youwantto be able to run on battory power without recharging the bat- tras? 24.1 tho site for the shelter such that the ‘shelter can bo built into the sie or into the top ofa slope? 25. Are you conoained about the security of ‘your shoto in the event ofan emergency ‘occupation? 26.00 you want 19 have an obsorvation ‘over inaorparates into yourshotter which ‘would entable you te have some contrel af Ihe perimeter around tho shelter eta? 27.16 the shelter going to be connected to oF part of any above ground structure? ‘You probably don't have the answers to ‘many of tiese questions but hopotully they have caused you to consider somo important aspects of, shatter buleing that you hada ‘thought of Before Site Location Considerations Proximity to Target Areas ‘When stenlng on raid tracks, if you ‘otoerve an oncoming train, the logical thing is fo get out ofthe way: I you believe in the pos- sibility ofan oncoming ncear war or natural saster, tno logical hing to do i to relocate ‘ut of any targotaroas or any potential wre that could be drastcaly affected by esrth shanges.f you Ive inthe of dominated inner ey, what woul! bea bei ivestrent buying bulet proct vests for your fai or ima.ing 10 a beter neighborhood? nthe Samo fashion, bulking = bine! sheltoe botavse you Iho near @ knoe Tage ar69, might not bo as smart 25 moving to nor et area (perhaps a te a9 ten miles ewe) and buidng a less expensive felout she. {an you ace a locomotive coming down the ‘acs teward you, the mest eost-aectve thing you can ois get ut ofthe way In order to be elfective, shelters in target ‘areas must be blast hardened: but to wih- Stand the direct effects of a nuclear weapon, Evan you have a Bast sheter, your fist indi- ‘ation of a threat might be the flash of a trike. At that point, tis too late fo rn to your sheker. tig my porsonal opinion that i you deter mine that you need blast protection, you should soriously consider relocating. Dis tancing yourself from target areas and areas of wuinorablty has both practical and finan: cial advantages. is practical in the gene of awiding the direct effects of a nuclear \weapan and financial because bulking a fall ‘ou shelter Is lass expensive than building 2 blast shelton. Living clase to a target area ‘realy reduces your chance of survival and greatly Inoroases the cost of a sheer. “The best placa to relocate to isa remote ‘tea, at laast ten miles from any target area, ‘and prelerably, thity miles vay from any ‘areas af major papulation. It would be idest if this area was in proximity to other tke minded people, ‘Onea a decision is made on a general location of a shelter there are certain tectore Which shaulr) he considered for specific locations Available Water You can't live long without water. You should lnvestgata how doap the walls ars in tha areas you are contemplating for a shear and how many gallons por minuto thoy pro- ‘duce. Water capabilty is an important issuo, Drlling a 600 ar B00 ft. well is exponsive, and in tho event of well pump failure, is hard to pull up and service the pump. It's impossible to pump water with @ hand purnp from well dospar than 250 feet | would highly recommend having a well for your shetter as water is very dificult to slo18 over a long period of ime. This subject Is covered extensively in the water chapter ‘earllar in this book. Drainage Drainage is very important. Consideration should be given not only fora high water table andits obvious complications. but also forthe potential impact of unusual suface water tunalf which could swamp the shette, Depth of Bedrock Itis wiso to dill or dig a tost hole to dotor- min if thoro is any underlying bedrock that would ebstruct the excavation nocessary to accammadate the shelter. | know one shelter project in partcular which spent consiserable ‘sums of money having to blast through unex- pected bedkack Tactical Problems It ideal f the tonain around a potential shelter ste oahancoe tho socurity ofthe shol- ters parimotor. In othar words, it would be bool lo lacato the shelter on a rately high pint which would give its observation tower ‘unobstructed tactical view of the aren su rpunding the shetter. Access Access is @ two-edged sword, Too easy fan socess is not good because you dont \want to be eonsitucing your shelter under everyone's gaze and inspection. And you dont want fo make it easy for somsone not Invted to make their way fo your shelter, On the other hand, you want i be atte to get to iin the winter # needs be. It wort he much {good having a shelter you can't get to in ims, ‘even if tis an ideal tactical location, Another consideration relating 19 access le geting equipment and material to te site dung the ‘onstruction phase. Earthquake Considerations Buried structures have the advantage of being earth-integrated. In an earthquake. the ground accelerates causing structures abour Ihe ground to move back and forth in @ rock ing motion. On the other hend, structures buried in the earth are moved only slighty ‘and then in syn with the surrounding ground, ‘This can be compared tothe way a ship toss- ces and roils in a storm on the waters surface and s submarine below the surfaoe moves stably within the sea. You cbviously do nat want to build a shel tor in close proximity to a known faul, but in ‘ganeral, a buriad shaller has the best char of survhing en aaithquake, far beter thar any typo of above ground structure, Never theless, shaking ‘il cocur. Supplies and ‘equlpment on shelves, generators, and weter snd fuel storage tanks should be properly secured. Other Shelter Building Considerations Cutting Into A Used Fuel Tank DANGER Extreme cautlon should be exercised vehen cutting into a used fuel tank. Over tho years, numerous people have been kiled by ‘explosions resulting fom trying to cut a tole in a usod fuel tank. Tanks which contained closal uot ara lose susceptible to explosion than tanks which held gasoline. Old gasoline tanks are extremely dangerous ta cut ints Regardless itil is an old diesel tank or an old ‘gasoline tank, weal both kinds asi they were gas tanks. You can never be sure exactly what ‘vas in the tank, ‘A fuol tank doos not need to have fue! in the bottom of It to be dangerous. The fuel ‘vapors or fumnes, mized with ale will be ignt- fed by a spark from a metal culling saw or torch. The intensity of suctt an exciosion can rately be survived. There afb three ways fo prevent fuel tank ‘explosions when culng inte tank, The first is to uso dry ioe, the eecond Is to use compressed C02 and the third Is 1o use exhaust ‘off tho tall pipo ofa truck. The whole concept is to displace the vapor fumes out of the tank ‘with C0, which I a heavy gas. Begin by mak- ing sure the tanks standing upright nits at- tural positon. Then, open one a the plumbing 220868 fings on the top of the tank It using dry ce, put 20 bof the dry ice in the tank for each 1000 gallons of tank eapac- fy, Tho temperature has te be warm enough to facitan the melting ofthe dy ice in order to procuos the Cog gas. Writ unl tho dry loa has melted complataly belore cutting into the tank, Ht using Cd, compressed gas, insert a discharge tube from the tank of Cd into the ‘aco0ss hol inthe fuel tank nel slaty ot the {995 iltho tank. Use 180-eu. fof compressad (C0, gas for every 1000 gallons of tank capac ity When using the exhaust from a truck you need a connecting pieoe of black fexiblo PVE ‘watortne slightly larger than the exhaust pine. Slip this watering over the exhaust pipe and ssocure it wih duet tape or a hase clamp 20 thal no exhaust leaks out, Put the ather ent Into the access hole in the top ofthe fual tank, Tum on the engine and let the truck idle Check the end ofthe water ne to make eure the exhaust is coming cut Dontt use a truck ‘wth eles in the muffler. The exhaust ean tains CO gas which wil displace the gas ‘vapors out the top of the actass hole so be ‘sure not to tape this connection shut. truck with a conventional 350 Cheyy engine needs fa idle 10 minutes for avery 1000 gations of tank capacity. Make sure be truck is tuned up and not running rich oF having choke prob Jems, You don’ want to be putting untamed fuel and CO into tho tank. CO ean actually ‘combust. A diasol engine would be better to use fortis application iit is avalable. ‘As an added precaution have someone duct tape the cut behind the cutting torch to prevent lr from entering the tank dung the actual process of culting the hole. Ary ful you findin the bottom ofthe tank, once you've cut the hole, can be absarbes with sawdust. shoveled into empty feed sucks and properiy sisposes of NOTICE Unless you are knowiedigsable and expe- rienced in this area, you should purchase a tank which has already bean cut open by a licensed fuel lank remover or purchase a new tank. This information is not intanded to be ‘encouragement or advice from the author in ragards to cutting into a tank, I yeu decide to engage in such @ dangerous and unpre sctable actity, you will awe to do it at your ‘own risk! Waterproofing When constructing sub-sarth homes and Underground shetere which have snels oom prised of porous materials, such as concrete ‘oF wood, meke sure not to skimp on the Wwaterprocting. There is nothing much worse than to backil and landscape en undat= ‘ground shelter and then discover sak, Tho ‘nly real solution is t0 call the backhco or excavator back, uncover the shelter by removing the dit, and re-do the watorproat ay For waterproofing concrete shelters, a product called Para Soal is probably the best ‘commercial product on the market today. Para Seals @ heavy mil PVC, material with bentonite backing. It is a set-healing wator- proofing system. If a hole is. punctured through the PYG. and water scope in, the bentonite swells up and stops the leak Parascal is made by Paramaunt Technioal Products, 2600 Paramount Drive, P.O. Bax 1042. Spoarish, SD 57788, (605) 642-4787 (oF (800} 858-5800. Another tsirly good prad- luct is called ADF wihich is made by Te Coatings, lozated in San Antonio, Texas For ul tanks, the best material far water: proofing is epoxy coal ter. You ean locate this coating material by contacting the nearest Underground tank manufacturer at by order: ing through 2 commercial paint store, For culver, a tar based foundation coat is adequate sinca the shell is galvanized mate- fia. Caution shoukd be taken to make sure that the joints between sections and waidedt intersection joins are property scaled 10 prevent leaking. ‘The steel quonset strictures contain many bok cannoctons an tend to leak if net perly waterproofed Pulyuratiane foam has been used succasstlly lo waterproof this type at stature, The newer generation af tkerglsss shol- ters like the Subioc ES1D are considered 19 bbe watertight, but the old Theta modules have atendeny to leak Backfilling Backliting is tre most eitcal constuction phase of any structure system which alias on fearth-arching for ts strustural strength, This includes fuel tanks, cuNer,fiberaiass pods, land steel quonect. The potental for sorious problems with sotting and deforming due to improper compaction should not be underes timated! Gonoraly, the backfiing material ‘should be screened in such a manner that ‘nothing larger than a softballs placed within ‘wo feet of the surface of tho tank oF outer LLaigor rocks, cue to the compaction pressure of the matorial above, tend to gradually migrato down onto the eurlace othe tank or cuNn. This produces dents and rsoint loads hich can potentially compromise the sttuc- ‘ural integrity ofthe system. Backing the Shaker Earth-Arching Earth-arching is @ phenomena whereby the earth covering a “uly buried” structure, when subjoctod 19 an ovorprassura, acts es ‘one integral unk, absorbs the prossure and 8 pressure penetrates down into the earth, the earth reduces and dlissipatas the pres. sure. The effect is that “lly buriad” sinuo- tures, without significant strength, only receive a fraction ofthe intial pressure which as applied tothe surface ofthe ground, ad survive without collapse. The tom “tully buried” means the structura in question, be i a fiberglass dome, tank or culo, is covered by at Isast 9 depth of carth which is equal to of greater than the diameter of the stuoture In other words, earth-arching wil nt work # the shelter isnot buriod ata depth which provides an earth cover over the top ofthe shel- terwtich is equal to or greater than the diameter oF width ofthe tank, culvert or arch that is covering. Compaction Anoter significant factor in relation to cartvarching elfects is compacton. The artharching effect will not function to its capacity if tie earth cover over tho shokar i not uniormly compacted to a percentage of {99% Proctor. Compaction fs not only important trom the standpoint of achieving the ‘The Reet of Poor Compaction carth-atching atest to protect the shelter in the event of an overpressure, but it's also important in terms of keeping tha tank or oul vort from deforming and deflecting ding the scatting process. A simple nay to test for ths 95% Proctor ddansity is to jam your heal into compacted earth and i barely Jeeves an imprint you have approximately 95% Proctor dancly Compaction can be thotoughly accom plished with = wackor tamper appled fo each 8 to 12 inch layer of camth cover. The fit de cf the bucket of a large excavator can bo used as long as a repeated pounsing action is applied. ‘The final agpoct of achieving the earth- ferching effect is tho aggregate nature of the sol iy and clay soiks wil not. even shen property compacted, pracuce the earth-arche ing effect. The overall material must not can tain any more than’ 15% silly fines ar clay. On the other earame, ifthe compacted back is ‘comprised of significant amounts of material ‘which islarge than 12 inches in damoter, the earharching effect wil be comoromisad, Both coatsa sand and gravel work wll and facitato carth-zrching, Landscaping Considerations Etforts should be mado to scrape of, stockpile and reserve any lopsolln the aver ‘on top of and arcurs the sheltor ste. Be care- ful that this el dos not get used for backfill ing, bedding tips or other actvitos where ‘earth wit minimum rocks Is noaded. The top sl ay not seem al hat valuable at the start pf the project, butwen the bulk ofthe project Is done and itis time lo landscape, the topsoil Is extromely valuable. Not only should the sol bbe soraped off areas whare excavations are going to ocou, bul also areas where subsoil from the excavation Is going to bo piled. The topsoil under these piles usually gots dug up and mixed in with the sub soll and thus ‘wasted during tne backfling operations. The landscape should also make consid- tration for security, Bushes, earth mounds rani lenge racks should not be lacated on the rounds iy ouch a way as to oreate conceal iment and cover for uninvited guests and intrnters, Doors Sheter enlyy doors and hatches have three primary requirements: airightness, security, and heal and overpressure resis: tance, An arighl seal is the primary require ment ct ary shelter door. This can be especially dfieut to achieve with a homemade blast door. Doors built to resist heat, over pressure and thwart security throats are by their nature massive and dificult to get ar Tight sesls 09, One solulion is to have a pri mary outer door which provides heat, overpressure and security protection and a se- ‘onary innr marine doar which tealitetes an ‘ceoelent aitigh sl Most shelters have dooss which saing ‘open to the auiside (in contrast to doors hat ‘swing inward). The reason for this is that the door is easier to bulls that way. In the event of ‘an overpressure, the outside preceure push '08 the door anto the door frame and the door Is supported by the frame on its ante porph fey. The disadvantage is that rubble rsuiting fram a bist can prevent the door fram being ‘pened, and if the sheter doesnt have an Unblocked atematve enleance, the occur pants must be feed by rescue teas coming from outside. 312 Doors opening to the inside allow ooou- pants to oven them even when blockod by ‘accumulated nibble, These style doors aro ‘more clffcut fo construct because the aver- pressure is carried by dogs or pins which extend from the door into the door frame, ‘These dogs transfer the overpressure la the door framo. Thoretora, inwardly opening doors need ta bo emall. “The best solution to being trapped inside f cholo by rubble is to have an alternative ntrancotext with a afferent profile, exposure and olovaton. The Idea here ts thet it one door isa herzontal surface walkin type, then the other antrancelexit would be & vertical hatch caming up tothe surface—ideally at a higher elevation. The prablem of rubble Block- ing a vertical type hatch can be teduced by ‘elevating the concrete reinforced hatch tube (00 folowing pictures) several fest above the round ive, arid have the hater pivot hor: Zontally to open, as opposed to fipping open vertically. One design which oeems effective isthe jack pivot type (as shown on the follow ing pagel which would allow occupants to it the weight of any debris accumulated on top ofthe batch Door frames for exterior entry doors should be structurally substantial. n the case of a blast shetter, the door or hatch tere should be constructed of steel roinforeed aon- ‘greta and have enough surface area and mass to dlsperse the lore of ovorprescure into the ground. This is enportant because # ‘the overpressure is not trenserred to the ‘ground, it wll bo tansfomed directly to the cont tubo which will be either crushed ot dei: ven into the sheer, Doors should fe eutitted on the inside weith af loast va chain binder arrangements which would Ughtly secure the door against the cfocts of nogative overpressure and attempts by hostile individuals to make an Unauthorized entry. Anothor impartant aspect of daors are ‘seals. Usually these are mado of rubber Fubber burns in case of intense surface fires, Ideally, fhe-resistant her gaskets made of kediar (which would retain intogrty at high temperatures) should be used. 3 Phveting Heten Door ‘Yareal Entrance Vertical Entry Exit Looking Up From Ins Shelter To protect the door from the effects of large caliber firoarms and cutting terches, steol doors should be lined internally with at Toast 1 inch of steel reinforced concrete, Entry Ways when designing shelter entry ways, the two factors whieh must be considered are attonuation of radiation and ease of access. The diamoter, length and number of turns in fan entry way will determine how much put- side radiation comes ito the ehetter through the entrance wey. Most shelter doors do not attenuate a significant amount ot reciation, Shelter entrance way tunnels need to be con- figured so that they attenuate radiation, both gamma and neutron, and provide adequate ‘acoess and oscape, Radiation attenuation is usualy scoom- plished by extending the length of the fentiance tunnel, incomparating tums in the fontiance way tunnel. reducing the diameter of tho onvance way tunnel creating a barrier inside tho tunnel, of any combination of these four Neutron radiation is only a probiom in proximity to "oroas affected by the blast. Noulron radiation is nat attenuated as easily 90 Degree Turn on Culvert Entry Way 3H